Social Icons

Book Review: Night Sweats

Why I picked it: I enjoy reading memoirs, and decided to read this after reading Joy's review. Her review is lovely, and she has a connection to the author (always love reading these tidbits).

Synopsis: Laura Crossett was thirty-five years old, one month into a relationship, and six months into a new job when she sat in a staff bathroom and looked at a stick that told her something she already suspected.

Almost half the pregnancies that occur in the United States each year are unplanned. Some of them happen to married women, some to unmarried; some occur due to failure to use contraception; some due to contraceptive failure. Some happen to women who hope one day to have children; some to women who never wanted children at all.

In a political climate that polarizes around issues of sexuality and choice and a popular culture that glamorizes pregnancy and fetishizes motherhood, we rarely hear the stories of women who did not seek to become pregnant. Night Sweats is one of them.

Quick Take: I find it challenging to review a personal story, knowing that life is filled with unexpected moments that define us. That said, the author has a lovely voice and captures the emotions of her story while keeping the reader interested.

I enjoyed her honesty in writing about the struggles she dealt with while pregnant (relationships, family, values, the future, her career). The only complaint I might have it that it's just 104 pages!